Process for production of esters through trans-esterification

ABSTRACT

The object of the present invention is to provide a method for the manufacture of an ester by transesterification, this method allowing the transesterification to proceed within a short reaction time and under a pressure of the order of normal pressure. It was found that transesterification proceeds when a starting material ester and an alcohol are brought into contact with a catalyst comprising (A) an amorphous zirconium oxide and (B) an oxide of Group III element, an oxide of Group V element, and/or an oxide of Group IV element other than zirconium and hafnium. In this method, it is preferred that the starting material ester in a liquid-phase state and the alcohol in a vapor-phase state be brought into contact with a solid acid catalyst comprising the above components (A) and (B), the starting material ester be an oil or fat, and the alcohol be methanol or ethanol. An oxide of titanium, silicon., germanium, or tin is the preferred oxide of Group IV element other than zirconium and hafnium.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method for the manufacture of esters such as fatty acid esters from starting material esters such as triglycerides, diglycerides, and monoglycerides by transesterification.

BACKGROUND ART

Transesterification is used for the manufacture of fatty acid esters, for example, by using oils and fats which are esters of fatty acids and glycerin. Alkali catalysts such as caustic soda, zinc catalysts, and lipase can be used as catalysts. Furthermore, it was also suggested to conduct the reaction in a supercritical state, without the addition of a catalyst (Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 9-235573A, 7-197047A, and 2000-143586A).

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

When an alkali catalyst such as caustic soda is used, the reaction time is long and the catalyst has to be separated after the reaction. Furthermore, when the starting materials contain a large quantity of free fatty acids, pretreatment is required to remove them. Another problem was that transesterification could not proceed due to a saponification reaction. When a zinc catalyst was used or when the reaction proceeded in a supercritical state, the reaction typically had to be conducted under a pressure as high as 5 MPa to 8 MPa.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for the manufacture of esters by transesterification, this method allowing the transesterification to proceed within a short reaction time and under a pressure of the order of normal pressure.

The inventors have found that transesterification is promoted if a starting material ester and an alcohol are brought into contact with a catalyst comprising (A) an amorphous zirconium oxide and (B) an oxide of Group III element, an oxide of Group V element, and/or an oxide of Group IV element other than zirconium and hafnium. In this method, it is preferred that a starting material ester in a liquid-phase state and an alcohol in a vapor-phase state be brought into contact with a solid acid catalyst comprising the above components (A) and (B), the starting material ester be an oil or fat, and the alcohol be methanol or ethanol. The content of amorphous zirconium oxide as the component (A) be preferably 10 to 99 wt. %, more preferably 40 to 99 wt. %, based on the catalyst weight. It is also preferred that an oxide of titanium, silicon, germanium, tin, etc. be used as the oxide of Group IV element other than zirconium and hafnium, which is mentioned as one of the component (B). Furthermore, when the component (B) is constituted by oxides of Group III and Group V elements, it is preferred that the total content of the oxides of Group III and Group V elements be, calculated as the elements, 0.5 wt. % or more based on the zirconium element weight and the content of amorphous zirconium oxide as the component (A) be 10 to 99 wt. %, based on the catalyst weight. The crystallization temperature of the amorphous zirconium oxide is preferably 450° C. or higher.

It is preferred that the oxide of Group III element in the catalyst be aluminum oxide, the content thereof be, calculated as the element, 40 to 1 wt. % based on the weight of zirconium element, the oxide of Group V element in the catalyst be phosphorus oxide, and the content thereof be, calculated as the element, 8 to 0.8 wt. % based on the weight of zirconium element.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[Starting Material Esters]

Starting material esters used in the present invention may be any materials containing an ester compound as the main component, and they may be polyesters. It is especially preferred that glyceride esters of saturated or unsaturated aliphatic carboxylic acids (carboxylic acids with the number of carbon atoms of about 8-24) be used. More specifically, it is preferred that triglycerides that are called oils and fats be used. Examples of such oils and fats include vegetable oils and fats such as soybean oils, coconut oil, olive oil, arachis oil, cotton seed oil, sesame oil, palm oil, castor oil, etc., and animal oils and fats such as beef tallow, lard, horse fat, whale oil, sardine oil, mackerel oil, etc. The starting material ester may contain 0 to 30 wt. %, more specifically 1 to 20 wt. % free fatty acid.

[Alcohol]

Alcohols containing 1 to 3 carbon atoms, in particular, methanol and ethanol are preferably used as the alcohol employed in accordance with the present invention. Polyhydric alcohols may be also used.

[Catalyst]

The catalyst used in accordance with the present invention comprises an amorphous zirconium oxide as the main component, and the content of zirconium oxide is 10 to 99 wt. %, preferably 40 to 99 wt. %, even more preferably 80 to 98 wt. %, in case of a catalyst comprising the oxides of Group III element and/or Group V element as the component (B). Furthermore, the content of zirconium oxide is 10 to 95 wt. %, preferably 40 to 80 wt. %, in case of a catalyst comprising the oxide of Group IV element other than zirconium and hafnium, as one of the component (B). Here, zirconium oxide also includes the hydrated oxide state. The term “amorphous” means that substantially no diffraction peaks are observed in X-ray diffraction (XRD). More specifically, the intensity of diffraction peaks is less than the detection limit, or only peaks with an intensity of 2 or less are detected, where the diffraction intensity of crystalline zirconium oxide is taken as 100.

The catalyst employed in accordance with the present invention can contain an oxide of Group IV element other than zirconium and hafnium as the component (B), and titanium oxide and silicon oxide can be used as this oxide. When titanium oxide is used, the content thereof in the catalyst is 5 to 90 wt. %, preferably 10 to 60 wt. %, and when silicon oxide is used, the content thereof is 1 to 20 wt. %, preferably 2 to 10 wt. %. The total content of the elements of Groups I-II and Groups VI-VII as the catalyst component is 1 wt. % or less, and it is especially preferred that the catalyst contains substantially no such elements, with the content thereof 0.2 wt. % or less. If necessary, a Group VIII element may be added in an amount of 0.1 to 5 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the catalyst. In addition, boron oxide, aluminum oxide, yttrium oxide, and lanthanoide element oxides, etc. may be used as a binder.

Further, the oxides of Group III and Group V elements are also effective as the component (B) of the catalyst used in accordance with the present invention. The oxides of those elements are contained at a content of 0.5 wt. % or more, calculated as their elements, based on the zirconium element weight.

Oxides of aluminum, gallium, indium, thallium, and yttrium can be used as the oxide of Group III element. The content of the oxide of Group III element is preferably not more than ⅓ of zirconium content, as the weight ratio of the elements. When aluminum oxide is used, the content thereof is, calculated as the element, 40 to 1 wt. %, preferably 30 to 1 wt. %, even more preferably 25 to 1 wt. %, based on the zirconium element weight.

The Group III element oxide is preferably contained in the catalyst in the state such that it is exposed together with zirconium oxide on the surface of the catalyst and the crystal growth of zirconium oxide is inhibited by the Group III element oxide. As a result, as described hereinbelow, the crystallization temperature of zirconium oxide preferably becomes 450° C. or higher. If the content of the Group III element oxide is too low, the crystal growth of zirconium oxide is enhanced, and if this content is too high, most of the surface of the zirconium oxide is covered with the Group III element oxide, thereby degrading catalytic activity. The oxide of Group IV element other than zirconium and hafnium is assumed to act on the zirconium oxide as mentioned about the Group III element oxide.

Oxides of phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, bismuth, etc., can be used as the Group V element oxide. The content thereof is preferably not more than ⅕ of the zirconium element, as an element weight ratio. When phosphorus oxide is used, the content thereof is, calculated as the element, 8 to 0.8 wt. %, in particular, 6 to 1 wt. % based on the zirconium element weight.

As for the contained Group V element oxide, it is preferred that phosphorus oxide cover the catalyst surface with a monomolecular layer. The catalyst may contain a combination of two or more of the Group III element oxide, the Group IV element oxide and the Group V element oxide. In any case, the crystal growth of zirconium oxide is suppressed, and the crystallization temperature of zirconium oxide is preferably 450° C. or higher, more preferably 500° C. or higher, even more preferably 550° C. or higher. Usually it is 900° C. or less. The crystallization temperature can be measured as a peak temperature of the exothermic peak at which no changes in weight are observed in the thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) conducted by heating from room temperature.

The total content of elements other than the components (A) and (B) mentioned as the catalyst components and Group VIII elements is preferably 1 wt. % or less, more preferably such elements be substantially absent, that is, the be present at 0.2 wt. % or less. Furthermore, if necessary, a Group VIII elements may be added in an amount of 0.1 to 5 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the catalyst.

In the catalyst employed in accordance with the present invention, the mean particle size is 2 to 200 μm, preferably 4 to 40 μm, the specific surface area is 100 to 400 m²/g, preferably 150 to 400 m²/g, and the central pore diameter D50 is 2 to 10 nm, preferably 2 to 8 nm. The specific surface area and central pore diameter can be measured by a nitrogen adsorption and desorption method. Further, when the catalyst is shaped, alumina having γ, η or other crystallinity may be used as a binder.

Composite oxide powders comprising the components (A) and (B) constituting the catalyst used in accordance with the present invention are generally available and can be purchased, for example, from Daiichi Kigenso Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. Further, composite oxide powders comprising titanium oxide and an oxide of a Group IV element other than titanium, for example, silicon or tin, can be also used as the composite oxide powder to prepare the catalyst for transesterification.

[Transesterification]

The reaction temperature is such that the starting material ester is in a liquid-phase state and the alcohol is in a vapor-phase state. More specifically, the reaction temperature is 100° C. or higher, preferably 150 to 350° C. No limitation is placed on the reaction pressure. Although the reaction can proceed sufficiently even under an atmospheric pressure of about 0.05 to 0.2 MPa, the reaction pressure is preferably 0.1 to 4 MPa, more preferably 0.1 to 3 MPa. The reaction may be also conducted in the so-called supercritical state. No limitation is placed on the reaction time. However, in a batch mode the reaction time is about 0.1 to 1 hour, and in a flow-through mode the product can be sufficiently obtained at a WHSV (Weight-Hourly Space Velocity) of about 0.5 to 5 (/hour). The ester manufactured by the present reaction is preferably obtained in the form of a liquid phase to facilitate separation from the catalyst. The reaction can. be conducted in batch mode or a flow-through mode. The catalyst in accordance with the present invention is preferably used as a fixed bed. In this case, it is not contained in the product and can be separated and recovered.

EXAMPLES

The present invention will be described below in greater detail based on examples thereof.

Example 1

The properties of the composite oxides manufactured by Daiichi Kigenso Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd., which were used as the catalysts, are presented in Table 1. A zirconium oxide powder (reagent manufactured by MEL Co., Ltd. (Great Britain)) fired in air for 2 hours at a temperature of 400° C. (Z-1) was used for comparison. The presence of X-ray diffraction peaks was determined by whether or not a diffraction peak exceeding the detection limit was detected at a scanning speed of 4°/min and a scanning width of 0.02° in RAD-1C (CuKα, tube voltage 30 kV, tube current 20 mA) manufactured by Rigaku Denshi Co., Ltd. When there was no peak exceeding the detection limit or when only a peak of 2 or less was present (the peak intensity of the fired zirconium oxide powder (Z-1) was taken as 100), the peak was assumed to be absent.

Each of those oxides was used as a catalyst, a fixed-bed flow reactor with a length in the up-down direction of 50 cm and an inner diameter of 1 cm was filled with 4 g of the catalyst, soybean oil (manufactured by Kanto Kagaku Co., Ltd.) as a starting material ester and methanol as an alcohol were introduced from the top end, and a conversion rate of the soybean oil in the outlet at the lower end was measured by gas chromatography at a point of time of 4 hours or 20 hours after the test was started.

The reaction conditions were as follows:

-   -   reaction pressure: atmospheric pressure,     -   reaction temperature: 200° C.,     -   starting material flow rate of soybean oil: 3.0 g/h,     -   starting material flow rate of methanol: 4.4 g/h, and     -   WHSV: 1.85/h.

The test results relating to transesterification are shown in Table 1. When the composite oxides of test examples 1 to 6 were used as catalysts, the conversion rate was high. In particular, it is clear that even higher conversion rate was obtained in test examples 2 to 6 which were the examples using a composite oxide comprising an amorphous zirconium oxide as a catalyst. TABLE 1 Test example 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Oxide number I-1454 D-1564 I-1455 D-1514 D-1515 I-1457 Z-1 Composition (wt. %) ZrO₂ 93.08 82.10 70.22 50.02 14.12 95.73 100 TiO₂ 6.92 17.90 29.78 49.98 85.88 0.0 0.0 SiO₂ 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.27 0.0 Mean particle 3.9 4.0 5.82 9.21 112.7 13.1 — size(μm) Specific surface 118.3 201.7 172.7 173.8 115.0 387.9 87 area(m²/g) Central pore 9.34 5.62 5.00 7.17 8.11 2.58 5.6 diameter (nm) X-ray diffraction peak ZrO₂ Yes No No No No No Yes TiO₂ No No Yes Yes Yes No No SiO₂ No No No No No No No Conversion rate After 4 hours 33% 55% 51% 53% 40% 54% 14% After 20 hours 28% 48% 43% 45% 36% 56% 10%

Example 2

The properties of the composite oxides manufactured by Daiichi Kigenso Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd., which were used as the catalysts, are presented in Table 2. A zirconium oxide powder (reagent manufactured by MEL Co., Ltd. (Great Britain)) fired in air for 2 hours at a temperature of 400° C. (z-1) was used for comparison. The presence of X-ray diffraction peaks was determined by whether or not a diffraction peak exceeding the detection limit was detected at a scanning speed of 4°/min and a scanning width of 0.020 in RAD-1C (CuKa, tube voltage 30 kV, tube current 20 mA) manufactured by Rigaku Denshi Co., Ltd. When there was no peak exceeding the detection limit or when only a peak of 2 or less was present (the peak intensity of the fired zirconium oxide powder (Z-1) was taken as 100), the peak was assumed to be absent. The thermogravimetric—differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) for measuring the crystallization temperature was conducted with a device manufactured by Mac-Science Co., Ltd. (TG-DTA2000S) by raising temperature from room temperature to 1500° C. at a rate of 20° C./min under an air flow.

Each of those oxides were used as a catalyst, a fixed-bed flow reactor with a length in the up-down direction of 50 cm and an inner diameter of 1 cm was filled with 4 g of the catalyst, soybean oil (manufactured by Kanto Kagaku Co., Ltd.) as a starting material ester and methanol as an alcohol were introduced from the top end, and a conversion rate of the soybean oil in the outlet at the lower end was measured by gas chromatography at a point of time of 20 hours after the test was started.

The reaction conditions were as follows:

-   -   reaction pressure: atmospheric pressure,     -   reaction temperature: 200° C. or 250° C.,     -   starting material flow rate of soybean oil: 3.0 g/h,     -   starting material flow rate of methanol: 4.4 g/h, and     -   WHSV: 1.85/h.

The test results relating to transesterification are shown in Table 2. It is clear that a high conversion rate is obtained in test examples 8 to 10 which are the examples using a composite oxide comprising an amorphous zirconium oxide as a composite oxide catalyst. TABLE 2 Test examples 8 9 10 7 Composition Oxide number (wt. %) K-1407 E-1565 E-1565 Z-1 ZrO₂ 91.3 95.8 95.8 100 PO₄ 8.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 Al₂O₃ 0.0 4.2 4.2 0.0 Mean particle 22.5 4.9 4.9 — size (μm) Specific 131 197 197 87 surface area (m²/g) Central pore — — — 5.6 diameter (nm) X-ray No No No Yes diffraction peak Crystallization 745° C. 626° C. 626° C. already temperature crystal- lized Reaction 250 200 250 200 temperature (° C.) Conversion rate 83% 59% 80% 10% (After 20 hours)

Example 3

The properties of the. composite oxides manufactured by Daiichi Kigenso Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd., which were used as the catalysts, are presented in Table 3. A zirconium oxide powder (reagent manufactured by MEL Co., Ltd. (Great Britain)) fired in air for 2 hours at a temperature of 400° C. (Z-1) was used for comparison. The presence of X-ray diffraction peaks was determined by whether or not a diffraction peak exceeding the detection limit was detected at a scanning speed of 4°/min and a scanning width of 0.02° in RAD-1C (CuKa, tube voltage 30 kV, tube current 20 mA) manufactured by Rigaku Denshi Co., Ltd. When there was no peak exceeding the detection limit or when only a peak of 2 or less was present (the peak intensity of the fired zirconium oxide powder (Z-1) was taken as 100), the peak was assumed to be absent. The thermogravimetric—differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) for measuring the crystallization temperature was conducted with a device manufactured by Mac-Science Co., Ltd. (TG-DTA2000S) by raising temperature from room temperature to 1500° C. at a rate of 20° C./min under an air flow.

Each of those oxides was used as a catalyst, a fixed-bed flow reactor with a length in the up-down direction of 50 cm and an inner diameter of 1 cm was filled with 4 g of the catalyst, soybean oil (manufactured by Kanto Kagaku Co., Ltd.) as a starting material ester and methanol as an alcohol were introduced from the top end, and a conversion rate of the soybean oil in the outlet at the lower end was measured by gas chromatography at a point of time of 20 to 48 after the test was started.

The reaction conditions were as follows:

-   -   reaction pressure: atmospheric pressure, 1.0 MPa, 2.0 MPa or 3         MPa     -   reaction temperature: 200° C. to 250° C.,     -   starting material flow rate of soybean oil: 3.0 g/h,     -   starting material flow rate of methanol: 4.4 g/h, and     -   WHSV: 1.85/h.

The test results relating to transesterification are shown in Table 3. It is clear that a high conversion rate is obtained in test examples 11 to 23 which are the examples using a composite oxide comprising an amorphous zirconium oxide as a composite oxide catalyst. Among the test examples 18 to 23, test examples 18 and 22 containing a somewhat low or high titanium oxide content showed a slightly low conversion rate as compared with other test samples. TABLE 3 Test example 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Oxide number E-1565 E-1565 K-1570 K-1570 K-1570 K-1570 K-1570 Composition (wt. %) ZrO₂ 95.8 95.8 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0 PO₄ 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Al₂O₃ 4.2 4.2 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 TiO₂ 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 SiO₂ 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Mean particle 4.9 4.9 160.7 160.7 160.7 160.7 160.7 size (μm) Specific surface 197 197 179 179 179 179 179 area (m²/g) Central pore 3.9 3.9 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3 diameter (nm) X-ray diffraction peak ZrO₂ No No No No No No No PO₄ No No No No No No No Al₂O₃ No No No No No No No TiO₂ No No No No No No No SiO₂ No No No No No No No Crystallization 626 626 642 642 642 642 642 temperature(° C.) Reaction temperature 200 250 250 250 250 230 210 Reaction Pressure Atmospheric pressure 1.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 (MPa) Conversion rate (%) 59(20 h) 80(20 h) 97(29 h) 98(25 h) 98(22 h) 99(22 h) 93(46 h) (reaction time) Test example 18 19 20 21 22 23 7 Oxide number I-1454 D-1564 D-1455 D-1514 D-1515 I-1457 Z-1 Composition (wt. %) ZrO₂ 93.1 82.1 70.2 50.0 14.1 95.7 100.0 PO₄ 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Al₂O₃ 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 TiO₂ 6.9 17.9 29.8 50.0 85.9 0.0 0.0 SiO₂ 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.3 0.0 Mean particle 3.9 4.0 5.8 9.2 112.7 13.1 — size (μm) Specific surface 118 202 173 174 115 388 87 area (m²/g) Central pore 9.3 5.6 5.0 7.2 8.1 2.6 5.6 diameter (nm) X-ray diffraction peak ZrO₂ Yes No No No No No Yes PO₄ No No No No No No No Al₂O₃ No No No No No No No TiO₂ No No Yes Yes Yes No No SiO₂ No No No No No No No Crystallization 759 605 576 600 725 559 Already temperature(° C.) crystal- lized Reaction temperature 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 Reaction Pressure Atmospheric pressure (MPa) Conversion rate (%) 28(20 h) 48(20 h) 43(20 h) 45(20 h) 36(20 h) 56(20 h) 10(20 h) (reaction time)

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

In accordance with the present invention, the transesterification reaction can be conducted within a short time under a pressure of the order of normal pressure. Furthermore, the product and catalyst can be easily separated. Therefore, the target ester can be produced with good efficiency. 

1. A method for the manufacture of an ester by transesterification in which a starting material ester and an alcohol are brought into contact with a catalyst comprising (A) an amorphous zirconium oxide and (B) an oxide of Group III element, an oxide of Group V element, and/or an oxide of Group IV element other than zirconium and hafnium.
 2. The method for the manufacture of an ester according to claim 1, wherein the starting material ester in a liquid-phase state and an alcohol in a vapor-phase state are brought into contact with a solid acid catalyst comprising said components (A) and (B).
 3. The method for the manufacture of an ester according to claim 1, wherein the starting material ester is an oil or fat, and the alcohol is methanol or ethanol.
 4. The method for the manufacture of an ester according to claim 1, wherein the content of the amorphous zirconium oxide in the catalyst is 40 to 90 wt. % and the Group IV element oxide is titanium oxide and contained in an amount of 60 to 10 wt. % in the catalyst.
 5. The method for the manufacture of an ester according to claim 1, wherein the content of the amorphous zirconium oxide in the catalyst is 90 to 98 wt. % and the Group IV element oxide is silicon oxide and contained in an amount of 10 to 2 wt. % in the catalyst.
 6. The method for the manufacture of an ester according to claim 1, wherein the total content of the oxides of Group III element and Group V element is, calculated as their elements, 0.5 wt. % or more based on the zirconium element weight, and the content of the amorphous zirconium oxide is 10 to 99 wt. % based on the catalyst weight.
 7. The method for the manufacture of an ester according to claim 1, wherein the crystallization temperature of the amorphous zirconium oxide is 450° C. or higher.
 8. The method for the manufacture of an ester according to claim 1, wherein the Group III element oxide in the catalyst is aluminum oxide, and the content of the aluminum oxide is, calculated as the element, 40 to 1 wt. % based on the zirconium element weight.
 9. The method for the manufacture of an ester according to claim 1, wherein the Group V element oxide in the catalyst is phosphorus oxide, and the content of the phosphorus oxide is, calculated as the element, 8 to 0.8 wt. % based on the zirconium element weight. 